The WNBA Players Association is releasing its first official NFT collection on the OpenSea Platform on Thursday, with proceeds benefiting voting rights.

In collaboration with Hoopers Vote, a campaign launched during the 2020 election by Entertainment Broadcaster and Producer Ben Lyons and the HEARTLENT Group, the Hoopers United NFT collection will donate over 50 percent of each sale to Rock the Vote and the WNBPA.

Elliot Gerard, Founder and Head of Creative at HEARTLENT Group, is the creative force behind the collection, creating unique works of art that highlight WNBA players’ individuality and achievements.

“WNBA players have always been the first in every social issue that’s on the right side of history, and this is an opportunity to continue to support them as they’re out there balling and doing great stuff in the community,” Lyons told Just Women’s Sports. “I’m a huge fan of the athletes in the WNBPA. They are real-life superheroes that I admire and love to watch hoop and ball out.”

The players of the WNBA have long been vocal advocates for social and racial justice and voting rights. Their work reached a crescendo in 2020 when the players’ campaign for Rev. Raphael Warnock during the Georgia Senate race helped him win the seat over former Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler, who had spoken out against WNBA’s embrace of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I think I always go back to the start of our partnership with Rock the Vote. Back in 2018 we started working with them and they just recognized how genuine the players were when it comes to voting rights and all that they wanted to do to amplify the message,” WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson told JWS.

“So, we stayed working with them through the midterms and the major election cycles, and started working with the whole Hoopers Vote initiative a few years ago when we were in the (WNBA) bubble.”

The players’ political and social activism, Jackson says, stems from their understanding of the responsibility they have in their diverse communities.

“What the players have always said is that it’s in their DNA,” Jackson said. “When you think about it what it means to be Black, Brown, woman, a member of the LGBTQ community, an ally of that community, the fact that pay equity is an issue that they champion, that women’s health is an issue that they champion, that all affects them. They see their connection and their responsibility to their communities.”

The Hoopers United NFT drop is a seamless way for the WNBPA to do what Jackson says the league’s players are best at — connecting the dots.

“This is the 144 that gave this country a lesson in civics, a lesson in democracy, just a few years ago and did it beautifully and so proudly,” Jacksons said. “They made a major statement. I don’t care what your politics are — they got people to the polls, they got them registered and interested in voting and passionate about it and paying attention, they got them completing the census, all issues that are just important lessons in civics.”

The NFT series will also celebrate the athletes’ significant achievements on the court. The Hoopers United collection will not just feature a select few WNBPA members, but the entire collective. Each piece of original artwork will celebrate the player’s singular contributions to sport and culture, raising their profile, honoring their accomplishments in the league and directing funds directly to the WNBPA.

“Our goal is to just to continue to highlight how they’re the best in the world and they should be compensated appropriately for it, and this is another way to drive some revenue towards them,” Lyons said.

NFTs, Lyons says, were a natural choice for the product in today’s shifting sports landscape.

“We all want access to our favorite athletes. We want some type of token of connection, and this provides that next opportunity to connect with your next favorite player,” Lyons said.

“This is another way fans are communicating. They’re building community, they’re sharing their love of their teams and their players in this space, and we wanted to make sure that the women of in the W all had an opportunity to be a part of this.”

The Hoopers United Genesis Drop will be available for purchase on Thursday on the Hoopers United website.

Clare Brennan is an Associate Editor at Just Women’s Sports.

U.S. Soccer announced Tuesday that the USWNT will play their last home game on July 16th in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The 2024 Send-Off Match against Costa Rica will take place at Washington, DC’s Audi Field — home to both the Washington Spirit and DC United — at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 16th. The friendly rounds out a four-game Olympic run-up campaign under incoming head coach Emma Hayes’ side, with the last two set to feature the finalized 2024 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team roster.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Hayes will appear on the USWNT sideline for the first time this June, helming the team as they embark on a two-game series against Korea Republic hosted by Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on June 1st followed by Allianz Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota on June 4th. 

The team is then scheduled to meet a talented Mexico squad on July 13th at Gotham FC’s Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, where the Olympic-bound lineup will attempt to rewrite February’s shocking 2-0 loss to El Tri Femenil in the group stages of this year’s Concacaf W Gold Cup. And while clear roster favorites have emerged from both of this year’s Gold Cup and SheBelives Cup rosters, a spate of recent and recurring injuries means making it to the Olympics is still largely anyone’s game.

Broadcast and streaming channels for the USWNT's final July 16th friendly at Audi Field include TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, and Peacock.

The USA Basketball Women's National Team is still considering Caitlin Clark for a spot on the Paris Olympics squad, says selection committee chair Jennifer Rizzotti. 

On Monday, Rizzotti told the AP that the committee will be evaluating the college phenom’s Olympic prospects by keeping a close eye on her first few weeks of WNBA play with Indiana.

The move is somewhat unconventional. While Clark was invited to participate in the 14-player national team training camp held earlier this month — the last camp before Team USA’s roster drops — she was unable to attend due to it coinciding with Iowa’s trip to the NCAA Women’s Final Four.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Judging by the immense talent spread throughout the league in what might be their most hyped season to date, competition for a piece of the Olympic pie could be fiercer than ever before.

"You always want to introduce new players into the pool whether it's for now or the future," said Rizzotti. "We stick to our principles of talent, obviously, positional fit, loyalty and experience. It's got to be a combination of an entire body of work. It's still not going to be fair to some people."

Of course, Clark isn’t the first rookie the committee has made exceptions for. Coming off an exceptional college season that saw her averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game for UConn, Breanna Stewart was tapped to represent the U.S. at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil less than two weeks after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Seattle Storm. Eight years prior, fellow No. 1 pick Candace Parker punched her ticket to the 2008 Games in Beijing just two weeks after making her first appearance for the L.A. Sparks.

In the lead-up to Paris’ Opening Ceremony on July 26th, USA Basketball Women’s National Team is scheduled to play a pair of exhibition games. They'll first go up against the WNBA's finest at the July 20th WNBA All-Star Game in Phoenix before facing Germany in London on July 23rd.

While an official roster announcement date hasn’t yet been issued, players won’t find out if they’ve made this year’s Olympic cut until at least June 1st.

For the first time in history, three different WNBA teams have completely sold out of season ticket plans well before the league's May 14th kick-off.

Call it the Caitlin Clark effect, attribute it to this year’s tenacious rookie class, or look to the skyrocketing visibility of veteran players across the board. But no matter the cause, facts are facts: Tickets to the 2024 WNBA season are selling like never before. 

On Monday, the Dallas Wings became the third team to sell out of season ticket memberships in the league’s 27-year history. The announcement from Arlington came shortly after the Atlanta Dream issued their own season ticket sell-out statement, also on Monday, and almost seven weeks after the back-to-back WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces made headlines by becoming the first-ever WNBA team to sell out their season ticket allotment.   

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by espnW (@espnw)

According to the Wings, season ticket memberships will fill nearly 40% of the 6,251 seats inside their home arena, College Park Center. The club also said that their overall ticket revenue has ballooned to the tune of 220% this year, spanning not just season tickets but also a 1,200% increase in single ticket sales. There’s currently a waitlist to become a Dallas season ticket holder, a status that comes with extra incentives like playoff presale access and discounts on additional single-game tickets. 

In Atlanta, season tickets aren't the only thing flying off the shelves. The Dream also announced that they broke their own record for single-game ticket sales during a recent limited presale campaign. Sunday was reportedly their most lucrative day, with five different games totally selling out Gateway Center Arena. Individual tickets for all upcoming matchups will hit the market this Thursday at 8 a.m., while a waitlist for season ticket memberships will open up next Tuesday at 10 a.m.

"Excitement around women's sports, particularly basketball, is at an all-time high and nowhere is that felt more than here in Atlanta," Dream president and COO Morgan Shaw Parker said in the team’s statement. "We’ve continued a record-setting growth trajectory over the past three years under new ownership — both on and off the court — and 2024 is shaping up to be our best season yet."

As of Tuesday, season ticket sales revenue for Caitlin Clark’s hotly anticipated Indiana Fever debut haven’t yet been announced by the club. But if these numbers are any indication — not to mention the explosive demand for Fever away games felt by teams around the country — it won’t be long before we see some scale-tipping figures coming out of Indianapolis.

25-year-old American pro golfer Nelly Korda secured her spot in LPGA history on Sunday, notching her fifth-straight title at this weekend's Chevron Championship in The Woodlands, Texas.

Ranked No. 1 in the world by Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sörenstam (2005) as just the third LPGA player to rack up five consecutive tour wins. She is also the third No. 1-ranked player to capture The Chevron Championship victory since the rankings debuted in 2006, accompanied by Lorena Ochoa and Lydia Ko.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LPGA Tour (@lpga_tour)

The Florida native shot three-under 69 in Sunday's final, besting Sweden's Maja Stark despite Stark's valiant come-from-behind attempt in the 18th. Korda finished with a four-day total of 13-under 275, celebrating her two-stroke win by cannonballing into Poppie's Pond, much to the crowd's delight. She left The Club at Carlton Woods with $1.2 million from an overall purse of $7.9 million.

It wasn't long ago that the two-time major champion's current winning streak seemed unimaginable. After maintaining her No. 1 position for 29 weeks, Korda underwent surgery to remove a blood clot from her left arm in 2022. She returned to the course not long after, but failed to win a single tournament in 2023 before seeing a surge in form during the first four months of 2024. As of today, she hasn't lost a tournament since January.

Korda will attempt a record sixth-straight win at next week's JM Eagle LA Championship at Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles, where she'll vie for a cut of the $3.75 million purse.